27 March 2017

GIA News - Issue 41

Message from GIA Secretariat Manager, Steve Rich

Welcome to the first edition of the GIA Newsletter for 2017.

The year has started off with a new governance structure for GIA which came into effect on 1 January. The new governance structure will support GIA’s expanding membership for the years ahead. We also have a revised Deed, and although the review didn’t bring about any substantive changes, it did however help to provide clarity in some important areas.

Last week the kiwifruit sector and MPI signed an operational agreement under GIA to help protect the industry from a number of threats to the sector. Delivering additional operational agreements for Signatories is a key focus for the partnership for the remainder of 2017. It will be essential to develop and implement further operational activities as these are a key component of delivering on a successful GIA. We will also continue to support those sectors still moving towards joining GIA; and ensure we have the necessary financial infrastructure in place to support the cost-sharing that has begun under GIA.

On behalf of the GIA Secretariat, we look forward to working with you all in the year ahead to achieve better biosecurity through partnership.

Steve Rich

In this issue:

Kiwifruit industry signs agreement to fight pest threats

A new governance structure for GIA

Australia Visit

NZ Forest Owners’ Association Forum

Brown marmorated stink bug operational agreement

Changes to the Biosecurity Response Knowledge Base

Fruit Fly Council meeting update

In other news

Kiwifruit industry signs agreement to fight pest threats

Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) Inc has signed an operational agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries to help reduce the damaging impacts of the four most common biosecurity threats to the kiwifruit and kiwiberry sectors. The operational agreement is the second
of its kind - the first agreement was for the
management of fruit fly in New Zealand Read more.

A new governance structure for GIA

GIA’s
new governance structure, as previously reported, came into effect from 1
January 2017. The newly established GIA Executive Committee (GEC) met twice in
January 2017 with discussion focusing on policy and resourcing matters. Geoff
Gwyn, MPI’s designated GIA representative, was elected as Chair of GEC (and will
stand down as the DGG Chair at its upcoming meeting). See the GIA website for more information on GIA's governance structure.

The
wider GIA Deed Governance Group (DGG), involving all Signatories, will meet for
the first time in 2017 on 31 March. A focus of the meeting will be discussions
with a number of MPI directors to ensure appropriate alignment between the work
plans of MPI’s operational division and the work programmes beginning to emerge
through operational agreements under GIA.

Meetings of the DGG are expected to be held
twice a year and focus on biosecurity system level strategic matters, as well
as GIA Deed administration. These meetings will replace the previously held GIA
Forums. The DGG remains the ultimate decision-making body for GIA.

Australia Visit

In late February, Barry O’Neil (Chair of the Fruit Fly Council) and Steve Rich (GIA Secretariat Manager) met with the Australian National Fruit Fly Council on an introductory visit to discuss opportunities for future collaboration. Whilst in NSW Barry and Steve also visited Macquarie University’s ARC Centre for fruit fly research and the Elizabeth MacArthur Agricultural Institute (main rearing site for QFF for the sterile programme). Discussions were also held with the Australian Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre (PBCRC) to discuss proposals for a future Australian biosecurity research structure once the current PBCRC expires in mid-2018.

NZ Forest Owners’ Association Forum

NZ Forest Owners Association and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) held a two-day forest biosecurity workshop on 7 and 8 March in Rotorua. Although the focus was on forestry-related topics, the content was relevant to other GIA partners. There was discussion of GIA achievements, a site visit to Scion Laboratories, presentations on MPI’s latest activities, and comparisons with Australian practice. A highlight was a couple of scenario-based workshops to test preparedness for biosecurity incursions. These workshops gave insights into the different roles and different stages of decision-making from the initial find of a suspected pest, through to the implementation of a response. The workshops also helped to ‘road-test’ some key processes as well as serving as a valuable educational exercise.

BMSB Operational Agreement

GIA Signatories and near-Signatories, that are expected to be beneficiaries of any operational agreement to prepare for, and respond to, a brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) incursion have agreed to develop an operational agreement under GIA, with a mid-2017 target date for completion. An interim BMSB Council has been set up to lead the development of the operational agreement, with Alan Pollard (CEO, Pipfruit NZ) elected as the initial Chair. Current participation in the council includes representatives from MPI, the GIA Secretariat, and the following primary industry sector groups – citrus, kiwifruit, pipfruit, tomatoes, vegetable, avocados, Horticulture NZ, plant producers, flower growers, forestry owners, winegrowers, process vegetables and summerfruit.

Membership of the Council is expected to grow, as a more definitive position is attained of sectors thought to be potentially impacted by a BMSB incursion. If you represent a sector that may be covered by the operational agreement and have yet to engage with the process, please contact the Secretariat Manager, Steve Rich, to discuss next steps.

BMSB readiness exerciseHorticulture New Zealand’s Biosecurity and Trade Policy Manager, Richard Palmer, will run a workshop to improve industry understanding of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) this Thursday, at the end of the Horticulture Industry Forum in Wellington. The Secretariat, the Ministry for Primary Industries and other industry stakeholders have been invited to the workshop which includes a simulation; the basis for a response; and how the industry can support a response.

Changes to the Biosecurity Response Knowledge Base

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has advised it will soon be making changes to the way the Biosecurity Response Knowledge Base (BRKB) is accessed. The New Zealand Government are continually working to protect the security of its networks and information. As a result, the BRKB will no longer be a publicly accessible website. For GIA partners, the impact of these changes will be minimal. GIA partners will still have access to BRKB content by request. During responses, GIA partners will have access tailored specifically to their response role(s).

To request access to the BKRB, please email: Grant Boston from the GIA Project team, or phone: 04 894 2418.

Fruit Fly Council meeting update

The Fruit Fly Council (FFC) met in late February 2017. The key item on the agenda was to begin the development of a Fruit Fly Management Strategy for New Zealand. The FFC also approved a project plan to ensure that current fruit fly surveillance activities are optimised. The Council will meet again in early May 2017, where it is expected to finalise the Fruit Fly Strategy and the work programme under the operational agreement for 2017-18.